Woburn man faces federal charges for alleged theft of treasury tax refund checks

A Woburn resident, Nnamdi Opara, 30, has been charged with two counts of bank fraud and five counts of money laundering in connection with an ongoing investigation into the theft of U.S. Treasury tax refund checks in Massachusetts.

Authorities allege that Opara wrongfully obtained two U.S. Treasury checks originally issued to a New York company, AFGO Mechanical Services, Inc. According to court documents, he then established a Massachusetts-based company using the same name and listed himself as President, Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, Director, and Registered Agent. The government alleges that Opara deposited the stolen checks into an account controlled by the new entity in Massachusetts despite it never having filed a federal tax return. Prosecutors claim this resulted in the theft of $700,767 from the U.S. Treasury.

Opara is also accused of conducting multiple illegal monetary transactions to conceal the origin of the funds from these Treasury checks.

The charge of bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine up to $1 million. Money laundering charges can result in up to 20 years in prison, three years supervised release, and fines up to $500,000 or twice the value involved in the transaction. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on federal guidelines and statutes.

"United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today." "Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case."

"The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law."